AOD FCU CEO: Unsure Why Board Denied Future Employment Contract

Richard Simonton, who has served as president/CEO of AOD Federal Credit Union for nine months, said he is not sure why the cooperative’s board of directors denied his request for a commitment for future employment.

Simonton was hired in December 2012 to lead the $262 million credit union in Bynum, Ala. He had been working as a conservatorship CEO for the NCUA. He said it now appears he will be leaving AOD FCU at the end of October.

“The crux of this is I came here without a contract with the intent of staying but I needed assurance that I had a job in order to move my family,” Simonton told Credit Union Times on Tuesday.

“After nine months, I thought I was doing pretty well so I asked the board to provide me with a commitment for future employment and they wouldn’t provide it.”

While Simonton worked at AOD FCU in Bynum, a town roughly 60 miles east of Birmingham, Ala., his wife and family stayed behind in Florida. He said seven of his 14 children still live at home.

The credit union’s board has not released a statement, Simonton said, but he did learn that “it wasn’t a unanimous decision among the board members” to not provide him with a commitment for future employment.

“Really, it’s still up in the air on where my future will be. There are other sources and opportunities that I am pursuing in the area,” Simonton said.

Simonton said “there are other things I can’t talk about” but in a few weeks, he may be freer to discuss more.”

A comment from the AOD FCU board was not immediately available.

During his tenure, Simonton said AOD FCU made good progress, turning the credit union around in the area of loan growth.

According to the credit union’s NCUA financial performance report, total delinquent loans and net chargeoffs was $1.8 million in December 2012. That figure dropped slightly to $1.2 million in June 2013. Loans totaled $114 million last December but decreased to $108 million in March 2013, only to recover to $110 million in June.

During the same period, assets increased $11.7 million in December to more than $14 million in June. The credit union’s net worth was 13.60%, which was higher than its peer average of 10.31% in December. As of June, AOD FCU’s net worth was 12.79%.